Euphylia Care

[GiGalo]

I have been having some hard times with Euphyllia corals for some reason. My Duncan (ol'dunc) had a rough time but still no answers in the end. My frogspawn was next and still don't know. Everyhing in my tank is great. Amon, nitrate nitrite are al good, alk is at 10 and ph is around 7.8 in a sg of 1.025

Could I get some feedback on euphyllia care...links, voiced experience, anything that will help me understand why i am now having problems with gold torch or euphyllia in general.

Here is pic I took yesterday of gold torch that has been living happily in my tank for about a month in the same spot. Started going in skeleton all the way just a about four days ago. All though it has been coming out during photo period, it has not been fully extended as before. Nothing has changed that I know of and everything else is doing great. Now today it does not seem to want to extend at all.

 

[rhdc2itr]

parasites, water?

 

[GiGalo]

The torch died! I finally think the problem is brown jelly disease. I am purchasing a UV unit for display and qt tank just for some peace of mind and for the next victim

Anybody ever fight this disease to give some light in this dark time.

I have found an article on reefdreams.de that spoke of no coral dip that is effective on this disease and that an antibiotic, which i found is no longer available, named tyfomycine would cure this disease.

http://reefdreams.de/lang_eng/info_13_eng.html

This is what I have read to this point. Any experienced opinion will be greatly appreciated.

 

[JRR1285]

While I am fairly new to the forums I have been viewing them for a long time and have learned so much by just reading everything I come across in searches or through browsing.

I am not new to keeping Salt water tanks but don't have a ton of reef experience. I recently decided to get back in and setup a 29 gallon reef that is doing well.

Anyway, to the point I have already had an encounter with Brown Jelly disease (BJD) It attacked a wall hammer I purchased in late December and I started off with revive dips which only slowed it down. I finally tried H202 (hydrogen peroxide) dips and it stopped the BJD and it is now recovering and growing again.

Here is my post in the rescue corals thread, I have learned so much in that thread and others here on Reef Central as well as other sites.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21354524&postcount=457

 

[DarthSimon]

What kind of lighting do you have and where is the coral placement??

 

[GiGalo]

JR: what was the h202 potentcy and what ratio did you mix?

DARTH: The torch was in a med current on the sand bed in a relatively med light.
My lighting is 26 3w led sitting about 12" off the water.

Can a healthy coral get Brown Jelly?

 

[JRR1285]

The most common ratio I came across was 1 part H2O2 to 9 parts tank water. Mine was probably slightly stronger the last attempt because I was thinking it was a goner anyway.

I just did another search with someone recommending half that strength so my best guess is it may work within that range. I saw no ill effects from doing the stronger dip so I'm inclined to do it that way again if this problem returns. Most important part is to make sure to the best of your ability that all of the jelly is removed along with any questionable tissue. I fragged my wall hammer by cutting off the two legs and actually cutting into good tissue with a hack saw. The BJD still attacked what was left but I was able to remove it for good with the last dip.

From reading a bunch of posts on this the infection can stem from the piece having recently been fragged, damage from getting picked at or even an impact. I probably could have avoided this had I dipped the coral in revive the moment I got it. Live and learn I guess.

Forgot to add it was the standard Hydrogen Peroxide sold at target: 3%

 

[GiGalo]

Thank you. I did not do enough reaearch on this type of coral, before owning it, to know the skeleton should always be covered by the coral tissue. Were your coral healthy prior to getting the disease?
I think mine may have been damaged when I brought home. I was not educated enough to know something was wrong. Does this disease affect healthy coral?

 

[JRR1285]

My wall hammer looked good but never great. I don't think it ever extended its polyps like it does now every single day.

I think healthy corals can get it but it seems to most often have some underlying cause like dying tissue from some kind of harassment or injury. The BJD sets in and begins consuming all tissue until it is stopped with dips or there is no tissue left.

On branching types it is common practice to cut off infected heads ASAP to save the rest of the coral. I have heard the infected tissue can go around the tank in the current and has a potential to infect other corals. I have not experienced this yet. I only have 2 LPS at the moment, the wall hammer I saved and an Acans coral. Both are doing well at the moment and it has been a couple of months since my hammer was infected.

 

[mess7777]

ime euphyllia are not as easy as we are commonly ed to believe. I believe they are sensitive to phosphates , you actually didn't mention your phosphates.

Also flow is important, it needs to be moderate and random. Too slow or too much seems to be hard on them. Fast changes in water chemistry, such as alk or even rapid reduction of nutrients affect them as well.

Good luck!